Such a valve rocker lever is disclosed by the generic DE 103 10 226 A1. At an end directly opposite the valve side, said rocker lever has a connecting axis on which the lever parts are supported so that they are capable of swiveling in relation to one another. At the other end a longitudinally displaceable coupling link (piston), which for coupling can be slid under a cross bar connecting the arms of the outer lever at the end, is provided in the inner lever in the area above a complementary face for bearing on a head of a support element.
One striking feature is that the axis is relatively remote from the pivot point of the entire lever. The valve rocker lever as a whole therefore has an unnecessarily high mass moment of inertia about this point. It will likewise be readily apparent that owing to the axis situated far out at one end the outer lever when decoupled also has an unnecessarily high mass moment of inertia. When coupled, the outer lever is also subject to an unnecessarily large deflection during cam actuation, which has to be braced by corresponding reinforcements. Furthermore, the overall width of the lever is relatively large, so that fitting problems can arise here.